Esteban Ocon and Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes had differing opinions of the Frenchman’s Formula 1 machine following a difficult Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Ocon finished a lowly 17th in Vegas, hindered in part by a wasted pit stop when he ran through pit lane with no Alpine crew members waiting for him.
The Frenchman said he “did a drive-through for nothing because we didn’t change tyres and that cost us our race,” but he also had problems with his Alpine F1 charger.
Unlike team-mate Pierre Gasly, who was running well in the top-10 before a power unit malfunction, Ocon was simply not at one with his machine.
“One car, Pierre’s, was quick, since Austin,” Ocon told select media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“Unfortunately we are not fast since Austin and that could cost us as well in the championship.”
Alpine has surrendered sixth to Haas in the Constructors’ Championship by a single point and Ocon is adamant that the upgraded Alpine that has guided Gasly to four successive Q3 appearances in qualifying hasn’t been working on his side of the garage.
“We need to figure out what exactly is going on and hopefully improve the situation for the next two [races],” he said.
Asked if he’s simply struggling with under-rotation compared to Gasly, Ocon replied “No, it’s clearly not that for sure.
“We are working with the team to try and improve the situation.
“But yeah, I mean, since Austin, it seems to not work at all on our side and we need to make sure that this is not the case anymore on the last two.”
Oliver Oakes: No difference between two Alpine F1 machines
Oakes was asked his opinion upon Ocon’s post-race comments and confirmed there are no differences between his and Gasly’s cars.
“It’s sort of been a little bit off Pierre compared to where he’d like to be,” Oakes said.
“From our side, both cars are the same, both got the upgrade, just everybody has to keep looking into making it more comfortable.
“I think you can see [Ocon has] been strong in the race pace.
“I think [Gasly] has the legs on him a little bit in the qualifying, and I think that’s where he’s coming from, really.
“We need to get him more comfortable.
“Even this weekend, to be fair, he was one-tenth away from Q3, and he had a very good race pace today.
“It was just a shame we made it tougher than it needed to be.”
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